2022 Top 10 WA Public Courses

BY TONY DEAR • CG EDITOR

It’s about time we published our top 10 public courses in Washington again. We did so every two years between 2013 and 2019, but then COVID hit, throwing a very large and very unwelcomed spanner in the works.

Having found our feet again, and with the pandemic a thankfully receding blot in the rearview mirror (being careful not to proclaim it extinguished just yet), we thought it the perfect time to remind everyone how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful corner of the country and one that enjoys a phenomenal amount of great public golf.

You don’t really need us to remind you of that, of course, but everyone loves making and debating lists and it gives us the opportunity to publish loads of gorgeous photographs of beautiful golf courses. Lists and great photos are always a sweet combination.

Five years ago, Gamble Sands knocked Chambers Bay off what seemed like its established position of No. 1 — where the Robert Trent Jones/Jason Blasi design that hosted the U.S. Open in 2015 had placed the first two times we ran the contest. We wondered if Gamble Sands would now take over as a perennial No. 1, but Chambers Bay came storming back in 2019 claiming the top spot once again -- no doubt a result of Director of Agronomy Eric Johnson replacing the old fescue greens that never really thrived with excellent poa annua surfaces that have settled remarkably well.

We could be totally wrong (it’s happened before), but the only way we see Gamble Sands overcoming the 80- vote margin from last time and taking back the top spot is through the addition of Quicksands, the incredible 14- hole par-3 course that was designed by David McLay-Kidd (who had designed the original Sand Course, of course) and opened in May of last year.

It’s likely Quicksands is an extra amenity for golfers who are already at the resort to play the Sands Course. But there may be golfers out there in Cascadia who have discovered what Gamble has to offer the other way round — coming for what they’ve heard is a rollicking good ride round and staying to play the original, which they discover to be their favorite course in the state, if not the country.

We’d be willing to bet a decent-sized sum of money that Chambers and Gamble will be battling it out for the top prize again, but we’re very curious to see what happens

after you all chime in. While the top two duke it out above them, the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain, seven miles west of Bremerton, and Wine Valley, nine miles west of Walla Walla, have had a similarly intense struggle for the No. 3 spot for several years with Gold Mountain winning the race within a race in 2017 and Wine Valley taking over in 2019. The difference between them last time was just 48 votes and, with both as strong as ever, who knows which way that scuffle will swing?

Before considering the rest of the top 10, it’s worth pausing and reflecting on the variety of golf we see just in the top four. You have a course most would consider a genuine links; a treeless, high-desert layout overlooking one of the country’s mightiest rivers; a stereo-typical Pacific Northwest course that cuts through dense, evergreen forest, and another fast-running, treeless venue crafted on top of an old alfalfa field. This quartet is as good as pretty much anything else in the country, but we don’t have to go through security lines and sit in uncomfortable seats with no leg room for three/four/five hours to play them.

Further down the 2019 list, we see more good courses that anyone from outside of Washington would envy us for (okay, New Yorkers, Oregonians, Michiganders, Floridians, Californians, North Carolinians, Chicagolanders and Arizonans might like a word).

Suncadia’s two public courses — Prospector and Rope Rider are both exceptional rounds. Then there’s Salish Cliffs, Palouse Ridge, White Horse and Washington National. And we’ve not even mentioned Trophy Lake, the Home Course, Loomis Trail, or Desert Canyon yet. Or Druid’s Glen, Apple Tree and Indian Canyon.

We’re asking industry experts, people involved in the golf industry and well, everyone we know what they think. What gets your vote? We’d like to collate as many votes as possible to get as clear and credible a result as we can. So, if you have a spare couple of minutes email your results to tonydear71@comcast.net and your voice will be heard. Simply send us your top 10 courses in order 1-10. Your name and contact info will not be published of course — we will only use the data you share.

And, for ALL those that vote, we will put your name in a prize drawing for a Leupold Rangefinder, PING Putter, Dukes Gift Cards, NW Golfers Playbooks and more.

Email us your ranking of top public golf courses 1-10 at tonydear71@comcast.net today. We will draw randomly from the voters for these great prizes. Vote before June 20 to increase your odds of winning!